PSE’s Georgianna Braden Says Archery Isn’t a Man Only World

PSE’S Georgianna Braden

Editor’s Note: Georgianna Braden of Houston, Texas, is a petite, pixie like lady. If you saw her on the street or in the courtroom, you’d never consider her as one of the top female archers. She is not only a tournament archer, but also an avid bowhunter and an advocate for women’s archery. Georgianna, who’s been shooting a bow for 7 years, and her husband Michael are both members of the PSE Pro Staff.

Georgianna, how did being a woman in a sport that has in the past been viewed as a man’s sport feel?
Braden: One of the things I learned from the first tournament that I attended was when I explained I never had shot tournament archery before, the guys, as well as the ladies, were willing to help me and show me not only what tournament archery was about but how to improve. Guys as well as women told me, “Okay, this is what this part of the tournament is all about, and this is what you are supposed to do. Make sure you check out your bow, and remember these tips and suggestions.” The impression I got from the first archery tournament I ever attended, to the latest tournament I went to, was that all the competitors wanted me to come back and shoot another tournament with them. They did everything they could to make that tournament fun for me. Unlike many other sports, the participants wanted me to come back and compete with them.

PSE’S Georgianna Braden

Today some of my best friends are archers, both guys and girls. One of the things I believe is different about archery from any other sport is that even though you’re competing against other archers, the competition is never you against them. You compete to improve your own score and to improve your proficiency with a bow. Everyone I know who shoots competitive archery is really trying to help everyone else do the best they can. In a tournament, technically, I understand that we are all competing for first, second, or third place in the competition. But, my main concern at the tournaments that I attend, and also for the archers I know is that we are all there to try and improve on the scores we’ve shot at the last tournament. So, archery competition is more about you competing with yourself than it is about competing against the other archers. At the end of every tournament, I’m thinking, “How can I get better?” Really and truly I believe that when a lady comes into competitive archery, that’s the mindset she should adopt. If you focus on what you can do to improve your archery score, then you can be really successful.